The city is committed to passenger safety in taxi cabs, Mayor Laura Cabott emphasized during a briefing held Wednesday afternoon.

Cabott said it was decided to hold the meeting in light of the city’s recent decision to revoke the business licences of two companies, Grizzley Bear Taxis and Premier Cabs, for numerous infractions of the vehicle-for-hire bylaw.

Each company, she said, has a history of infractions.

Among those joining the mayor for the meeting was RCMP Insp. Lindsay Ellis and Krista Mroz, the city’s acting director of community services.

Cabott said the city and its bylaw department take very seriously the duty of ensuring the safety of passengers and compliance with the vehicle-for-hire bylaw.

The Yukon Women’s Coalition and the Yukon Status of Women Council produced a Taxi Safety Report that has been submitted to the city.

Cabott said city council has not had an opportunity to drill down in the document, but city administration is currently going through it in detail.

If and when recommendations are made regarding potential changes to the bylaw, they would come to council for approval, she noted. Cabott thanked the coalition and other women’s groups for sharing their experiences and doing the work to put together the report, which makes several recommendations.

Among them is conducting a public awareness campaign targeted at informing residents of the role bylaw services personnel play in regulating the taxi industry.

The city will be implementing an awareness campaign in the next couple of months to share information about the report and how the city manages its vehicle for hire bylaw, she explained.

“This is a whole community approach in dealing with this.”

It’s quite likely there will be recommendations for amendments to the bylaw, Cabott said.

Mroz said cabs are routinely inspected by the bylaw department and infractions in the past have resulted in fines totalling thousands of dollars.

The bylaw department, said Mroz, meets regularly with the taxi industry, and has an ongoing relationship with the RCMP and the women’s groups.

She said the RCMP did provide input at the first vehicle-for-hire meeting in early 2021.

The bylaw department, she said, has created an additional shift at night which will assist with ensuring compliance with the vehicle-for-hire bylaw.

The RCMP inspector said police are committed to working with the city to implement recommendations coming out of the report.

They continue to work with the women’s council on safety protocols, she said.

Ellis said the RCMP do receive complaints from passengers, or from friends and family members of passengers who make reports because the passengers themselves are reluctant to do so.

“It tells us this community is very invested in safety,” she said.

Ellis said the RCMP have investigated 17 complaints of sexualized assault since 2017, three of which resulted in criminal charges.

“I tell you that is unacceptable because one is too many,” she said.

Ellis said if passengers do not feel safe, they can call the RCMP directly at 667-5555 or call 911, 24-7.

If they receive a call, she said, officers will attend.

Ellis noted taxi companies are required to maintain working cameras in their cabs.